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Regional lawmakers cool on Wolf budget proposal

5 min read
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Rep. Tim O’Neal

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Rep. Josh Kail

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Cook

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Snyder

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Sen. Camera Bartolotta

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Rep. Jason Ortitay

The reaction of lawmakers in the region to Gov. Tom Wolf’s $40 billion budget proposal was about as cold as the temperature outside this time of year.

State Rep. Josh Kail, a Beaver County Republican whose district includes part of Washington County, summed up the negative response when he described it as “taxes, taxes and more taxes.”

“Unfortunately, instead of advancing pro-worker and pro-growth policies, we still have the same problems that we had when the governor was elected in 2014, and he’s still trying to use the same failed tax policy in response.”

Wolf, a Democrat, and the Republican-majority General Assembly locking horns over the budget has been an annual rite for most of the governor’s time in office.

In his budget address Wednesday, Wolf called for an increase in personal income taxes in the 2021-22 fiscal year, a severance tax on the natural gas industry and a 17% increase in spending overall to boost public schools and job training programs. The spending increase would also help erase the deficit caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Rep. Tim O’Neal, R-Washington, said he was “shocked” that Wolf was calling for an increase in the income tax in the midst of a pandemic, characterizing it as “tone deaf.”

“The average person is hurting,” O’Neal said in a statement. “Our health-care heroes have been worked to the bone and would now see more of their hard-earned dollars sent to the government. Unemployment is through the roof, and this administration cannot seem to pay out unemployment claims in a timely fashion. Now is definitely not the time to be increasing taxes on the residents. Instead, we should be focused on fixing government operations and becoming more efficient.”

Wolf unveiled a “big, bad budget,” said state Rep. Matthew Dowling, R-Uniontown. “This is not the type of leadership we need to help Pennsylvanians recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.”

The budget proposal should have included more investment in infrastructure and economic development, according to state Rep. Michael Puskaric, R-Union. The proposed increase in the income tax is “a non-starter,” he added. Puskaric believes Wolf is “still out of touch with where people are at.”

State Rep. Bud Cook, R-West Pike Run, criticized Wolf’s budget, as well as the restrictions he has put in place over the 11 months due to the pandemic, saying the governor “has spent the last year destroying small businesses and restaurants.”

Cook further said Wolf’s top priority should be COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

“I will not support his proposed budget and instead will fight for a budget that will actually help the people of Pennsylvania recover from the mess he caused,” he explained.

A severance tax on the natural gas industry, which Wolf has proposed throughout his time in Harrisburg, would be “job crushing,” according to state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, and would “hike utility bills statewide and chase away new investments in our community.”

“This approach has not worked the first six times Gov. Wolf tried it, and it is an even worse idea now when so many Pennsylvanians are out of work and families are struggling to pay bills due to his administration’s unilateral, arbitrary restrictions on employees,” she said.

One of Bartolotta’s colleagues in the state Senate, Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin, also denounced Wolf’s call for an extraction tax, and said a proposed hike in the state minimum wage would hurt family businesses that have struggled during the pandemic.

“This is absolutely the worst possible time to raise taxes and spending as Pennsylvanians struggle with the COVID-19 crisis,” Stefano said. “It would place an enormous burden on citizens, families and our small businesses who are barely making ends meet.”

Though responding cooly to Wolf’s proposal, some local lawmakers pledged to work with the governor to come up with a budget by the June 30 deadline. State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Cecil, said, “Whether you love or hate the budget proposal, remember it’s just a proposal.”

Ortitay called for “new ideas and new approaches to move Pennsylvania into the 21st century, especially with our education system. Throwing money at it does not solve the problems our system is faced with in 2021 – in a year that the state will undoubtedly face another budget deficit due to the pandemic.”

State Rep. Ryan Warner, R-Perryopolis, said, “The governor launched his address today by painting a picture of a Pennsylvania where our families thrive, where barriers to affordable housing and education are removed, jobs are available and financial security can be achieved. I believe that’s the goal we all strive toward, but we disagree pretty significantly on how to get there.”

While saying that Pennsylvania has “a spending problem,” state Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, said, “I am willing to work with the governor to ensure a better tomorrow for all of my constituents. I haven’t seen in this budget how taxing everyday and blue-collar workers is going to make their lives better.”

The sole Democratic state lawmaker in this region, state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, said, “The annual budget address outlines the governor’s priorities for this next budget cycle, but is only the first step in a long process to fund Pennsylvania’s government. The governor’s wish list of funding increases will undergo strict scrutiny as we move through negotiations over the next several months before the June 30 deadline.”

She also said, “Our focus now should be increasing COVID-19 vaccine distribution and delivering unemployment checks to thousands who are still waiting for benefits they are owed, not putting a heavier tax burden on Pennsylvania’s working families.”

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